As New Zealand's record try scorer, Doug Howlett's status as one of the greatest wingers in the history of the game is beyond dispute.

Blessed with blistering pace, Howlett was a star sprinter in his youth, once clocking 10.68s for the 100m. Unsurprisingly, his incredible speed served him well in his other great love, rugby, and he represented New Zealand at underage level before really announcing himself as a prodigious talent by scoring a hat-trick on his Super 12 debut, for the Highlanders, aged just 18.

He made the switch to the Blues two years later and went on to score 59 tries for the Auckland outfit, which remains a Super Rugby record, and played a key role in the side's Super 12 success in 2003.

Howlett made his first appearance for the All Blacks in 2000, against Tonga, and helped himself to two tries, the first of which arrived just over 20 seconds after his arrival on the field.

He represented New Zealand in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, with his try against Scotland in the latter tournament him resulting him in taking sole possession of his country's all-time try-scoring record from Christian Cullen.

However, the tournament ended on a low note for Howlett. Three days fter the All Blacks' shock quarter-final elimination at the hands of France in Cardiff, a game for which he was sensationally dropped, Howlett was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to two vehicles during a players' night out at Heathrow airport. A groveling apology followed.

Howlett quickly put the controversy behind him, though, and he joined Munster at the start of 2008. He became an instant cult hero with the Red Army and less than five months after his arrival in the Irish province he had a Heineken Cup winners' medal to go with his Super 12 medal.

Howlett continued to excel in the northern hemisphere with Munster and he helped the province to Magners League glory the following year. In light of his exceptional form, speculation mounted that Howlett would return to New Zealand in 2010 in a bid to force his way into the All Blacks' World Cup squad. However, he ultimately decided to sign a new deal with Munster, thus ensuring that he will end his playing days as a legend in both hemispheres.

Come the 2012-13 campaign, Howlett was named Munster's skipper for the campaign - he was just the second overseas player to be handed the honour. Following another impressive season, where he cemented himself as Munster's record scorer, he announced he would retire at the end of the season after failing to overcome a shoulder injury.